#1 cylinder reads "0" Compresion

Hi all I' bought a 59 willys jeep with plow in restorable condition, but it runs rough. It Came with another jeep in way better condition acording to the guy. Hes supposed to bring me the other 1 tuesday or wednesday thats just missing the engine everything else is good as it was a driver before engine was pulled. Got the 2 jeeps for $501.00 of ebay last week. I think its a good deal. Now to my problem. I just did a compression test on all cylinders the readings are as follows: #1=0 #2=95
#3=95 #4=105 it runs rough (very rough) but stays idling. The guy I got it from has used it in this condition for plowing only for 6 years (as there are no brakes it looks like where the master cylinder goes he has something rigged to lift n lower blade on plow he uses plowblade for brake and now so do I LOL)so he says. It still plows fine as I did my camp driveway with it. Is there a way to reorder the distributor wires so that it will run on the 3 cylinders smother till warm weather comes to do a ringjob or inspect further Its ticking loudly. It is not the original motor but it is a willy jeep motor he got it from a junkyard it is a 4 cylinder engine with a firing order of 1-3-4-2 with a willys jeep head. (willys and jeep and other stuff stamped on head) It doesnt look like my 65 kaiser eng as carb placement is high on the willy and low on the kaiser. Funny my Kaiser has a melted piston and hole in cylinder wall in the number 1 cylinder. Was this a prob with lubrication or was this common failure. I put oil in cylinder and it still read zero. Is this a stuck valve? I'm Looking for advise on what to do. How long does it take to do a ringjob on the four. thanks guys Loving this forum so far lots of info here.

 

Ok ill pull off valve cover and take a look I been refreshing the page every 5 in hopeing some1 responds thanks

 

Even with engine damage, sounds like you got a deal - 2 jeeps for 500??? Wish I could find one of those.
My guess : 2 options 1) dead cylinder i.e. piston not moving -- conrod broken, pull oil pan loose and see if the conrod and crankshaft has any damage. 2) valve(s) dead i.e. valve is either broke or stuck -- pull valve cover turn engine over and watch for valve movement.
Did the engine sit for any amount of time?? Older engines like to have a valves stick occasionally. If it is a stuck valve, try 2 things. Put Marvel mystery oil on it to unstick it, then use a can of seafoam to re-lubricate and break in engine.

 

Will do thanks will look into it more tomarrow afternoon

 

I would look for the simplest solution.

Too many times we start with the most complicated or serious solution.

It used to run OK, and while that may have been several years ago, it probably ought to run again without tearing everything apart.

First, I'd try to put some Marvel mystery oil in the cylinder. If a valve is rusted open the oil should seep down into the valve guide area and perhaps loosen things up.

If that doesn't do the trick, I'd pop off both valve covers and look to see if the valve isn't simply stuck.

Marvel mystery oil or some penetrating oil on the valve springs could loosen it enough to make it work.

I have had a jeep and an M-37 that had 0 compression on all four (or six)

I got them running using this technique. With the M-37 I worked it 'till I got 4 of six cylinders with some compression and fired it up. Shortly thereafter it began running fine. After that it took some fooling with it to get it running each time, but at the end of a week or so of letting it idle for a while the valves were loose enough so that it would start right up.

I'd try to start it outside, and not in the garage, just in case the carb backfires....

 

its a flathead 4 engine lol I forgot it dont have valve covers I guess I'll have to pull head off

 

thats a good tip that ill use thank you :stout:

 

Sitting a long time -> stuck valve. That would be the simplest explanation.

 

Yeah - the valve cover on an L head is on the side, just belog the exhaust/intake manifolds.

When putting the valve cover back on, it would be best to try to either get or make a new one and use some gasket sealer.

This side cover is particularly prone to leaking.

Y'know, with an L head, when you look into the cylinder through the spark plug hole you are looking at the exhaust valve top. My experience is that the exhaust valve is usually the culprit in a stuck valve situation.

What I did once with that jeep L head that had no compression was, once I had a lot of Marvel Mystery Oil in it for a day or so, to crank the engine until the valve lifter was down, and then tap on the top of the valve with a hammer and a metal rod through the spark plug hole. Now, don't pound on it, but some gentle tapping along with the Marvel could shove that valve down. Then crank the engine and it'll shove the valve up. Crank 'till the lifter is down and then tap on it again.

Cycling through this several times did two things; first it freed up the valve enough so that it would begin to go up and down by itself, and second it splattered Marvel Oil all over the place - watch your eyes.

good luck

kamel

 

i dont know what engine i have other than its different from my 65kaiser both are 4 cylinders both flat 4s the kaiser has plugs on side of engine and the willys has plugs on top of head with a cone shape hole the plugs go into. Its is an engine that was not the original is that enough info for you to tell me what engine I have? It has willys jeep and a bunch of stuff stamped on the head.

 

thanks I have a L then.